Chickpea brittle

Back in the day, nut brittles were a very popular item. All it took was some caramelized sugar and fresh roasted nuts and you had the makings of a delicious brittle. This chickpea brittle uses the same concept, but with protein and fiber-packed chickpeas instead of the higher-fat nuts.

You can certainly change it up and add nuts to the mix, but try the chickpea recipe first on its own. These are surprisingly delicious (I speak from experience after polishing off about half of my first batch singlehandedly.) In addition to being a great snack food, they make a unique and elegant garnish for ice cream, trifle or custard.

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon canola oil

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter or Earth Balance

3 tablespoons heavy cream or coconut milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450° F. Line baking sheet with two sheets parchment paper.

Toss chickpeas with oil and spread out over parchment paper. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven.

In a small pot, melt butter, sugar and cream together, stirring constantly. Bring to a low boil, and then continue stirring and heating until large bubbles appear.

Add chickpeas and stir to coat. Toss top sheet of parchment paper.

Turn off flame, and pour chickpeas over clean sheet of parchment. Spread with a spatula, working quickly before caramel hardens. Allow to cool and harden.

*If mixture didn’t caramelize properly, no worries! You can put it back in the oven set at 375° F for 15-20 minutes. Allow to harden and cool.